The 10 to 12 per acre stocking rate generally removes all submersed aquatic plants and most emersed aquatic plants within 2 years. This rate or even a higher stocking rate is appropriate for an irrigation pond or a fish culture pond because a pond manager in these situations generally prefers no submersed or emersed aquatic plants. Stocked at appropriate rates, grass carp control most species of submersed aquatic plants and many species of emersed aquatic plants. Grass carp sometimes control large coarse stemmed aquatic plants such as cattail, bulrush, and American lotus, but in other situations they do not.
Some emersed plants, such as water willow, are rarely or never controlled by grass carp. Grass carp should never be stocked into a pond where there is a substantial risk of escape. Grass carp live in rivers in their natural environment so they actively search for moving water.
They can escape through an unprotected spillway with as little as 3 inches of water flow. Grass carp can not reproduce in ponds but they can reproduce in some rivers. Grass carp can damage or destroy native wildlife and fish habitats by removing aquatic plants and indirectly causing increased water turbidity. For this reason, it is against the law to release grass carp into public waters in both Oklahoma and Texas.
If grass carp escape, the investment in aquatic vegetation control washes downstream with the grass carp. Grass carp should be stocked only in a pond with properly designed fish barriers on the spillways or in a pond with no overflow.
If water will flow through both an overflow pipe and an emergency spillway, both need barriers. A basic requirement for most ponds that want to stock these fish is that the ponds are large enough, and do not have any areas that can allow for escape of these fish into other bodies of water. If you have an inline pond that the fish can easily escape from you will not likely be permitted to keep the Grass Carp.
About 10 grass carp per acre is a good starting stock level. Once stocked in a pond they are not easy to get out. Grass carp are very effective at controlling weeds, but the results may take a little time to become apparent, but fear not these fish do their jobs eating up to 3X their own body weight daily! With their long life spans they could even become aquatic friends to you, keeping your ponds undesirable plant growth in check for you.
All copyrights to this material belong to Mike Gannon. Hello Drew, try contacting your local Division of Fish and Wildlife, they can set you up with a supplier and provide the permits if they are required in your area. Thanks for reading the blog and commenting. We bought six grass carp one yr. Thanx for your advice. Hello Marve! So you have seen firsthand how very effective grass carp can be in controlling or even removal of unwanted algae growth.
Being fairly early in the season I would guess that the fish have not come out of dormancy just yet. Regards, Mike. Hello Bill, I do not sell the grass carp, but you should get in touch with your local Division of Fish and Wildlife to get these type of fish.
They typically require a permit. Thanks for reading the blog! Hello Solomon, you would probably use about 3 carp. It is hard to say how long it will take for them to work their magic but they will do it, they are very effective!
You need to contact your local Division of Fish and Wildlife to obtain these fish. Good luck and thanks for reading and commenting! It is basically a dam on a creek and the overflow goes into the wood and streams. Since rebuilding it, it is covered with algae on the surface as well floating and some submerged algae.
We intend to get carps but also are considering planting trees on the south side to shade the pond instead of using die which is expensive and maybe add a fountain to increase oxygen infiltration, both of which are preventive measure.
In terms of effectiveness, which one of these 3 factors are MOST effective: shade, oxygen, carp. There is nothing we can do about nutrients as we have no control over that. Hello Ahmad, thanks for reading the blog and commenting. As far as improving water quality I do recommend aeration; however I would start with submerged aeration instead of the floating aerator; you will get much better results. I also go ahead with the carp and trees too, but it all starts with aeration.
However, there are some in our community who think we now only have common carp in the lake. It is my understanding that the common carp has barbels whiskers whereas the TGE does not have them. Is this correct? It also appears the common has more of a horizontally oblong shape whereas the TGE is sleeker.
However, have you got any good pictures? One other thing, the mouths on the carp I have caught are pointed somewhat downward and relatively small. Hi Larry, if you can get close enough to see if they have barbels or not then you will be close enough to visually see the difference. The 2 fish will not look very similar. I would take a look at side by side photo comparisons of triploid grass carp vs common carp. The differences are easy to see that way. Thanks for checking out the blog!
Live in Noblesville, IN. HOA put grass eating carp in our ponds 3 years ago. Water level has dropped significantly in the last two years. Could the carp have caused the retention ability of the base to deteriorate?
Hello Dennis, I do not think it likely that the carp had anything to do with drop in water level. I plan to put some carp in the early spring. Five fish I guess from what I read. My question is would it be better to take my pond before putting them in. Would they be able to keep up if not once the grass comes out of dormancy?
Hi Ross, thanks for checking out the blog. Yes, if you are able to, giving the pond a good raking will help keep the problem a little more controlled. The fish will still have a big job ahead of them so any help you provide is good! There was a typo in my post. I am talking about raking my pond to remove excess grass before putting the carp. I have 6 koi and some water lilies.
How many grass carp should I try? I assume one or two would be plenty. Hi Cynthia. On a pond that size grass carp will not work for you. Typically algae issues are due to an underfiltered pond, try finding ways to upgrade your filtration on the pond and try some beneficial bacteria treatments added frequently.
I have a friend in Maryland that needs some grass carp n her pond, how do we order and get the to MD. I have a friend in Maryland that needs some grass carp in her pond, how do we order and get them to MD?.
Hi Bob. Contact your local Division of Fish and Wildlife, or whichever local agency Maryland uses. My only concern, being an avid bass fisherman, is that the carp will eat the good grass, duck weed as well. We put grass carp in this lake about 10 years ago, and I have found that the bass fishing has since gone down in production.
Now that grass is finally growing back, of which some is a nuisance, but not all is. Please advise. Hey Kenny! The grass carp will definitely eat the duck weed and they will also eat a variety of other aquatic weeds. Good luck! Before I contact my local fish and wildlife office.
Would the grass carp survive our winter? Our pond does have aeration to prevent winter kill. Hi Chris. Aeration always helps. Your pond will very likely be visited by the fish and wildlife office for an eveluation before they issue a permit for the fish.
I would say that they will determine if the pond is appropriate for the grass carp. I have a 1 acre lake in central France, max depth 10feet. I was told that 2 grass carp about 40pound each probably smaller!
This summer I have caught three using sweet corn, weighing 12pound, 20pound and Alternatively the stocking information I was given may not have been correct. The lake is certainly weed and algae free. I would like to purchase some grass carp for an HOA pond.
If stocked at high enough density, these guys will eat plants faster than the greenery can grow. Many pond owners have witnessed grass carp work wonders, taking choked-out ponds and cleaning them up, restoring beautiful waterways.
Other times people experience little to no vegetative control. Why are carp bad for lakes? Common carp degrade water quality and destroy habitat for waterfowl, fish and amphibians. While searching for food, carp burrow into lake sediments and in the process they uproot aquatic vegetation, increasing water turbidity and releasing large quantities of sediment-bound nutrients, which stimulate algal blooms.
Do carp eat frogs? They really love finding worms, but they aren't picky. As Carp stir up the roots of underwater foliage, many other creatures are revealed. Carp have no problem gobbling up Crawdads, frogs, or even smaller fish. Carp will eat just about anything they find down there that's alive.
Do Grass carp eat leaves? Grass carp are opportunistic herbivores that will consume a variety of aquatic plants. Some common plants they will readily consume are hydrilla, elodea, bladderwort, coontail, najas, milfoil, potomegton spp. All sizes are available at any time of the year.
For a list of producers in your area, contact your county Alabama Cooperative Extension System agent. Grass carp are sold by commercial fish dealers across Alabama. It is a federal offense to violate state laws that prohibit the possession, transportation, or sale of grass carp. Many states require special permits to possess or transport this fish. Most states, including Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee, require that grass carp be certified sterile triploids. Fertile grass carp are not illegal in Alabama and can, therefore, be used freely.
Before transporting grass carp across state lines, check with the natural resource agencies in all the states you will be crossing to determine the legality of transporting the fish through their state. Table 3 provides recommended grass carp stocking sizes and rates for use in ponds. Stock larger grass carp 8 to 10 inches in ponds with established bass populations. Stock smaller fingerlings 2 to 6 inches only where no predators exist or in newly stocked ponds where the predators are about the same size as the grass carp.
Smaller fingerlings can also be stocked in catfish ponds. Grass carp are readily eaten by bass and other predatory fishes. It takes time for grass carp to bring a weed problem under control. Weeds may or may not be controlled by the end of the first growing season. If weeds continue to flourish during the second year, then stock more grass carp. You may need to restock with enough fish to bring the total number in the pond up to the maximum normal recommended rate of 20 fish per acre.
For control of difficult weeds, you may need to use herbicides to reduce the problem. Then rely on grass carp to maintain control.
If the weed you want to control is not a favorite of the grass carp, you may need to try other control methods. After the weeds are gone in ponds that are stocked at the maximum rate, about half of the grass carp can be removed. If the grass carp are left in these ponds, the remaining fish will not have enough food. The fish can be selectively harvested by angling, by using a large mesh gill net, by applying 0.
While grass carp are excellent table fare, it is generally not advisable to eat fish killed with rotenone. Grass carp can also be used for weed control in catfish production ponds.
They will eat some of the catfish feed, but, when stocked at recommended rates, they will not reduce catfish production. Grass carp are in the catfish ponds only a short time before the catfish are harvested so more grass carp may be needed to control weeds in the ponds. If the catfish ponds are harvested annually, stock 40 to 50 8-inch fish per acre.
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